Light Aircraft makes an Emergency Landing

Thousands of people travelling to and from Birmingham Airport have been hit by delays and cancellations after a light aircraft made an emergency landing on its runway.

Woodgate Aviation, which owns the plane, said one of its Beechcraft fixed-wing aircraft had developed landing gear problems on the journey from Birmingham to Belfast.

Two crew members and one passenger were onboard, but were not seriously injured when the main undercarriage collapsed on touchdown.

The runway was shut for more than six hours until the plane was removed at about 19:30 BST, after which the airport said it had reopened.

The first plane to depart from the airport after its reopening was a Wizz Air flight to Bucharest, Romania, which had been scheduled to leave Birmingham at 14:10.

In a statement, a Birmingham Airport spokesperson said: “We understand the frustration and apologise for the disruption this has caused.

“Our teams have worked as quickly as possible, in line with strict protocols, which must be followed to ensure a safe reopening of the runway following a prolonged closure.”

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch said it was investigating the incident.